From Phandelver, are ye?
The Commission The player has commissioned a master artisan of North Point to create a special item. Whatever the item is, adjust it to the appropriate craftsman in the city. In this case, we'll say it was Master Adalgrim Burnwick, who was commission to build a magical staff for an apprentice wizard. The money was saved up and spent, the commission placed. It has taken two months to craft magical staff, with Master Burnwick sending weekly updates and occasionally asking for character's input during the process. It has been an exciting time as the character has watched their staff slowly take shape. Finally, it was the last week before it was finished. The player went to the shop, only to see it was closed. And it was closed the next day, and the next. The player started to panic... Finally, the player met up with Master Burnwick's apprentice. What he shared with his apprentice: *Master Burnwick was going to test the item and would be back in five days. This is not unusual for Burnwick, as he’d “disappear” for days at a time on a semi-regular basis. *It has now been seven days: Master Burnwick, who is otherwise very punctual, is now two days overdue. The apprentice is as worried as the young wizard. Note: the Apprentice could well be another player, a civilian artisan in this case, and the scenario brings them together. 'North Point: First steps' 'Investigation' *Adventurers will need determine exactly when he left, where he might be, and how he traveled. *Family connection: Master Burnwick lives in North Point with his wife Millie… *Determining travel modality will require some investigation in town. He has a horse of his own, which he keeps stabled. The horse is still stabled. *Did he charter a boat or take a regular ferry south? Many on the docks know who he is, and all the regulars definitely know. None have taken him. *He rented a large canoe from the shipwright. 'PC course of action' *What to do? **Rent a horse and ride to Shield’s Bluff? See if he’s there? Maybe look along the shoreline? **Charter a boat? Rent their own boat? 'Southern Route' *Cedrick Millner can be a guide for the PCs on the trip south. *Random encounter: 20% chance of encounter via any modality (d20, contact: 1-4) **Highland Trail: traveling merchant, traveling locals **Coastal Trail: traveling locals, Bandits **Maritime course: traveling locals, Pirates *Clues on Master Burnwick **The clues have been hidden by the survivors, so that makes it a hard task to catch details (DC: 20), but if they’re in a hurry: DC 25. They’re likely in a hurry. 'Shield’s Bluff' *PCs arrive and ask Master Burnwick’s extended family when is the last time they’ve seen him *They haven’t seen him in two months. *There have been sightings of packs of kobolds at night and goblins during the day. There have been troll sightings in the last month or two, starting about ten miles north – but nothing close to town. *Hearing about his disappearance, they’ll be pretty concerned, too. They immediately set out to search in the vicinity of Shield’s Bluff. *PCs will need to backtrack and search carefully. The Cavern of Lost Soles * The PCs will locate the site of the battle on their second (return) pass. ** The boat and bodies were hidden, hence being quite missable. Once located, the natural path to the cave will be obvious. * Upon locating the trail to the cave, utilize the cave location information. Category:DM/GM Notes